Canning Tomatoes:

Tomatoes are easy to can, and make a great pantry
staple. You will need to follow canning instructions carefully, to ensure
that your tomatoes are tasty and safe to eat.

Ingredients

Tomatoes
Canning/Pickling Salt
Citric Acid
Water

When
selecting your tomatoes be sure that none of them are overripe. Also
makes ure that there aren't any bad spots on your tomatoes.

Directions:

Wash your jars in hot soapy water, then rinse
in hot water and leave in hot water until they are ready for use. Check
your lids and bands to be sure none of them are damaged, rinse them,
keep in hot water until they are needed.

Fill your waterbath
canner about half full of water and place over heat. Also, you will
want to heat up a kettle of water during this.

You will also want to quickly blanch your tomatoes
to make them easier for peeling. Do a few tomatoes at a time for 30
seconds before putting into cold water. Skin your tomatoes, cut the
cores out and cut away any green portions on your tomatoes.

A few of the tomatoes will need bo be crushed,
then put into a pot and brought to a boil. Add a couple tomatoes at
a time, being sure to keep up the temperature. You need to do this so
that the enzyme pectinase is destroyed. Boil all of your tomatoes for
5 minutes.

Fill your hot canning jars with the boiling tomatoes,
be sure to leave 1/2-inch headspace in all the jars. Add your Canning/Pickling
salt, you will need 1/2 a tsp for pint jars and 1 full tsp for quart
jars. Also now is the time to add the citric acid, 1/4 tsp to pint jars
or 1/2 tsp to quart jars.

Using a bubble freer remove air bubbles from
jars. Wipe the jar edges clean so that they will make a good seal with
the lid. Put lids on and place the screw band firmly.

Place the jars into the waterbath canner and
add hot water to cover the jars by 1-2 inches. Put on the canner cover
and bring to a rolling boil. Don't begin timing utnil the water is at
full boil. Once you begin timing you will process pints at 35 minutes,
quarts at 45 minutes.

Remove your jars as soon as time is up. Allow
to cool undisturbed for 12 hours. Test your seals. If your seals are
good, then your jars are ready to be labeled and put into storage.